Welsh Republican Movement

The Welsh Republican Movement (Welsh: Mudiad Gweriniaethol Cymru) was a Welsh nationalist political party.

It was founded in 1949 as a split from Plaid Cymru. The group, some of whom had previously been members of the Labour Party, aimed to build a base in industrial southeast Wales by focusing on socialism and republicanism rather than on rural affairs, pacifism and the Welsh language.

In 1950, the group began publishing a newspaper, The Welsh Republican - Y Gweriniaethwr. It stood Ithel Davies in Ogmore in the 1950 general election, and took 1.3% of the vote.

Some members of the party were arrested for burning the Union Jack, and it faced accusations of initiating violence. They also conceived a Welsh republican flag, a tricolor with green, red and white bands.

By the mid-1950s, most members of the Movement had either returned to Plaid Cymru or joined the Labour Party, and its newspaper ceased publication in 1957. However, F. W. S. Craig believed that it remained active as late as 1966.^[1]

References

• Peter Barberis, John McHugh and Mike Tyldesley, Encyclopedia of British and Irish Political Organizations
• Ymgyrchu! - The Welsh Republican Movement
• Welsh separatist and independentist flags

See also

• English republicanism
• Irish republicanism
• Scottish republicanism
• Welsh nationalism
• Republicanism in the United Kingdom